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We're about to get setup for electricity, so -- bzzzzzzzz! Just kidding! They say an
eco-friendly house can't be built in 150 days for a $150,000, and I say it can. I'm Allen
Smith, join me as I push the limits with time, budget and creativity with the Garden Home
Challenge, exclusively on eHow Home. How's it going, David? Allen, doing fine today -- how
are you? Doing great. You putting some receptacles in? Yeah, we're trying to finish up -- finish
up the washer. Good. And we're finishing up the dryer circuit. Why don't you tell our
eHow viewers a little bit about what you're doing here, because I think it's fascinating,
and I think it's something people really need to understand. Okay, washer circuits: It's
a regular 110 volt plug. Right. But it's a dedicated circuit. It's a 20 amp, dedicated
circuit for the washer. Just for the washer. But what's that for -- the dryer? The dryer:
Now the dryer is a 220. Right. It's a 220, 240 volt, 30 amps. Need a little more juice.
Need a little more juice, yep. Is it -- now, is that on a dedicated circuit? Yep, it's
on its own dedicated circuit with its own breaker and everything, just for the dryer
itself. What about in the kitchen here, because I know you got some three-way switches going
on and some other things. Now, David, as the kitchen relates to the utility room: There's
a lot concentration with, I guess, the most complicated aspects of the electrical system
in these rooms, right? Ah, sure -- we needed a little bit extra power, extra juice, for,
you know, appliances and for washer and dryer. Now we talked about a three-way switch here
when we set it all up -- is that what you're installing? Yes, sir. We're getting ready
install -- we got a three-way switch because we have two different entrances into the kitchen
here. So we have a three-way switch to be able to turn it on here, as we enter in the
back door. Right. Or in the main entry. Very handy. So in terms of the mechanism, what
makes the three-way switch different than just an ordinary switch? Well, a three-way
is a little bit different -- it has two travelers and a point wire. Right. To be able to turn
it on and off in different locations. A three-way, you can do from two locations. A four-way,
you can actually do three, four, five different locations. I see. Yep, but since we have two
different entrances here. It'll be a three-way. Yes, sir. Okay, very good. And it doesn't
take long to install these, if you know what you're doing. If you know what you're doing.
Remember that: If you know what you're doing. If you don't know what you're doing, get an
electrician. But, of course, the other thing that complicates things in the kitchen or
a washroom is water. That's correct. Yeah. I started this piece -- I was playing around
with the electricity and acting like I was getting shocked, but it's no laughing matter
-- it's pretty serious stuff. It's no laughing matter. Even as an electrician, I made sure,
before I even entered the house, that we had all the power off, just to be on the safe
side. Yeah. Yeah. Did you hear that? All the power off. Yep. Right, so let's talk about
the -- we got a sink here, and you're about to put in the socket, but this one has a grounding
aspect to it that's really important. That's correct. Anything on a countertop or near
water, in your bathrooms and kitchen, they're required to -- it's called GFCI: Ground Fault
Circuit Interrupters. And that protects you around the water. It'll protect the plugs
and the outlets. And what it has: It has a test/reset button on it. But with the aspect
on it, the way that's made, it'll protect you for any kind of water damage or security.
So what's the difference, David, in the price of a receptacle that's just basic throughout
the house versus this one? A basic receptacle without the test/reset, you know, they're
pretty reasonable. You can get them for a dollar or less. But a GFI or GFCI, you know,
they run, especially with childproof, the way they require now with the 2011 code to
make sure that nobody can -- it can't stick a pair of scissors or anything in there --for
the kids-- you can see the little slides on it. That's great. It takes a double penetration
to be able to get it to plug in. So you just can't stick one in each. But they'll run you
about $20, you know, for your protection and your safety. But well worth it. Well worth
it, yes sir. Of course, when we laid out all the rooms, we tried to be as conservative
as possible with regard to the switches and receptacles. But how many did we end up with
in this house, David? Well, it's amazing -- smaller house, it still adds up. Because with code
and everything, you gotta have so many feet from the doorway and stuff like that, but
we ended up with 42 plugs, 28 switches, 8 GFI's. 8 of these, yeah. 5 smoke detectors,
6 three-ways. Then all your lighting. Yeah, and this is a house that's 1,650 square feet.
Yeah, it's reasonable size with a lot of openings. Yeah, very good. Well, thanks, David. I'll
let you get back to work. Alright, I appreciate it. You bet. Hey, if you're enjoying these
updates on the house, check in regularly, tell a friend about them, and make sure you
subscribe to eHow Home. And don't mess around with your electricity unless it's all off!